Old Friends
by Caitd-85
Summary: It's amazing what you find when you're out buying milk! Rose and the Doctor are reunited with an old friend, but are they going to lose him all over again?
1. Chapter 1

Warning – This fic disregards the series 2 finale altogether (actually – I tell a lie, I think I've explained things at some point!) But anyway – it's a smidge AU now….. It's also a bit spoilerish for Torchwood. You have been warned.

Summary – It's funny what you find when you go shopping for milk……

Chapter One

Gwen Cooper had always enjoyed an early morning run. It was a habit which she'd gotten into whilst she was at school. Having a large family such as she did she found that going for a short run in the morning gave her some time to think and enjoy her own company for a while. Of course now that she was older and had left the chaos of her childhood home behind she didn't need this time all that often but she still enjoyed a run as often as she could find time.

This morning she had decided to kill two birds with one stone. It was a lovely day out, a breezy September morning with just enough sunshine to make the external temperature pleasant without being overbearing, and she had a bit of extra time so she had decided to run to work rather than take the car as she normally would. She was nearly at work when she spotted something lying in the gutter that made her stop and take notice. A small silver chip, about the size of a playing card, was glistening in the sunlight from beneath some fallen leaves. Six months ago she probably wouldn't have noticed it lying there, let alone picked it up and pocketed it as she did now, but things had changed, she had changed. Six months ago she had switched jobs, leaving behind her safe career in the Police force for a more interesting and rewarding job. She was still involved in investigating, still had to use all the same skills she'd learnt as a police officer but now, she was learning, there was so much more to the world. This chip, although it didn't look much, was not something you'd expect to see just lying about like discarded rubbish. Something about it set alarm bells ringing in her head and so she decided, she would have to show it to her Boss.

-----

Jack Harkness sat behind his desk examining the chip his star worker had just given him. He knew there was a reason he liked Gwen Cooper. The Torchwood Institute only took the best and Gwen was definitely one of the best. He'd first met her back when he was new to the job. He'd been working with the local police force to track down a couple of dodgy con-men from the Scarlett-System and Gwen was one of the DC's assigned to the case. It hadn't taken him long to persuade her that her skills would be put to better use elsewhere and before he knew it she was part of his team, something which he was very happy about.

"Well, what do you think?" Gwen's question startled him out of his memories.

He sighed, turning the chip over in his hands. He knew exactly what the chip was but he wasn't about to tell her that. It was a vid-chip from early 51st Century Earth. That in itself he found slightly worrying. He knew the chip had nothing to do with him so he found himself wondering who else may be in the area with that had access to this sort of technology. Looking up at Gwen he realised she was waiting for an answer.

"Leave it with me." He told her, a forced smile on his face. "I'll see what I can find out."

Gwen looked at him quizzically. She could tell he was hiding something but she knew, as did the rest of his team, that if Jack Harkness didn't want to tell you something then no amount of persuasion would make him. With one last smile in his direction and a quick 'see you later' she turned and left the room.

-----

Owen was officially fed up. Most days he loved his job but today… well today was one of _those_ days. Nothing was happening. Nothing had happened for weeks, not since the problem with the Delphines the previous month where some local children had taken to keeping a race of vicious alien predators as pets. Since they'd cleared that up however he had completed the paper work, filed it, logged all the details onto the network, sent the necessary reports out to other offices and then proceeded to re-design the filing system cross-referencing all the files by date, length, genre, author and even ink colour! Now he had finally run out of things to do and he was bored. He'd just finished doodle number three of the morning, a picture of a little house on a hill at sunrise, when Toshiko walked into the room.

"You alright Owen? Everything quiet?" she asked with a smile whilst setting down a cup of tea in front of him.

He'd just opened his mouth to tell her exactly how little was happening when a little light on the screen he was sitting in front of started flashing. He grinned eagerly at Toshiko,

"Not any more." He told her, "Code mauve. Let's go!" With a bemused grin, as they still failed to see why they'd had to start using mauve as opposed to red, they dashed out of the room together.

------

Gwen met up with Owen and Toshiko in the kit room.

"What have we got?" Gwen asked as she grabbed her equipment, holstering the 'stun gun' that Jack insisted they all carry out in the field.

"Code Mauve." Replied Owen. "It's right on our doorstep too, up top."

Gwen looked intrigued, "I will never understand what is wrong with red." She sighed. "But really? That close? This I'm looking forward to seeing…"


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Well after three reviews in less than 24 hours (and the awful day I've had at work!) I had to put a bit more up. It's only a little short filler but I promise some more in the next couple of days…

Chapter Two

Rose cheerfully pranced into the console room and threw her arm around the Doctor's shoulders.

"So, Where you taking me today then?" she asked happily.

In the past few weeks they'd been all over the place. He'd taken her to see all the things she'd learnt about at school in history, they'd seen the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire as it should be and they'd even made it to Barcelona – the planet, not the city. They'd made it three whole weeks without having to run for their lives, just being tourists and seeing the universe at it's best.

The Doctor grinned back at her, "Thought we might let the Tardis decide for a change." He told her. "See where we end up."

She smiled at him in reply, to her that sounded like a wonderful idea, after all, the Tardis had never steered them wrong before. As the Doctor started pressing buttons, pulling levers and flicking switches, Rose grabbed hold of the nearest railing. She had been travelling with him for over a year now yet still she hadn't mastered staying on her feet when they landed. The Tardis whirred, groaned and shuddered before finally setting down with a bump.

"So come on, where are we?" Rose asked impatiently once she'd gotten her balance back

The Doctor looked at the monitor and frowned. "We're on Earth." He told her.

Rose just nodded, encouraging him to continue,

"In 2007."

Again she nodded encouragingly at him although she seemed slightly less enthusiastic this time. Finally the Doctor laid down his last card,

"In Cardiff."

Rose looked at him like he'd gone mad.

"Are you telling me that you let the Tardis decide where she wants to go and from all of time and space she chooses Cardiff in 2007!" She asked with exasperation, "Why?"

The Doctor Merely shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? There must be something she wants us to do or see here. Maybe it's just her way of reminding us we're out of milk." Rose grinned. "Either way, we're here now. Might as well get some fresh air."

With that he headed over to the door, turning at the last minute to offer Rose his hand. She took it as he opened the door and together they headed out into Cardiff…


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Well hello again! It's been a few days since the last update – sorry! I've been on a weekend break for the Bank Holiday and that meant 3 whole days with no access to the internet – I don't know how I managed it! I realised I never put a disclaimer on the first two chapters so, just in case it wasn't apparent, I OWN NOTHING! Consider this story disclaimed.

Chapter Three

Toshiko had to say that of all the things she would have expected to cause a code mauve, a 1950s Police Box was not at the top of her list. There was, however, no denying that this box had not been there before and had no place in what was, by all accounts, a modern up and coming part of Cardiff. There was most definitely something odd about it and apparently Gwen and Owen were both thinking the same as they had drawn their stunners and had them trained on the door of the box. Mentally shrugging her shoulders, Toshiko did the same.

--------

The three of them didn't have to wait long before the door to the Police Box swung open and a young couple stepped out hand in hand. They both looked human enough. She looked to be about 20, had shoulder length blonde hair and brown eyes. She was dressed simply in jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket; no doubt she would have easily blended into a crowd. He was slightly older, maybe 30-something, and had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a brown pinstriped suit coupled with a suede trench coat and looked rather out of place all things considered.

The fact that they looked human, however, didn't have the three Torchwood employees fooled in the slightest. What ever they looked like humans didn't just wander out of mysterious boxes like that, especially when said box had no business being there in the first place. The reaction of the two of them to seeing the reception committee only went to further the belief that they were to be treated with caution.

"Oh, Hello!" The man greeted them cheerfully, sounding not in the least bit phased by the three stunners currently pointed at them. The girl, at least, had the decency to look slightly shocked, although still she didn't seem worried, more perturbed.

"Who are you?" Asked Gwen, immediately getting to the point. All the training she'd received when she was working for the police kicked in at moments like this. Besides, Jack would want answers when they went back in and the sooner she could get those for him the better.

"I'm the Doctor." The man answered her, now looking bemused at the reception they were getting, "This is Rose Tyler. And since we're doing introductions can I ask who you are?"

Gwen frowned, ignoring his question for now, choosing instead to follow her own train of thought. "The Doctor?" She asked him, "Doctor what?"

It was Rose who answered her, shaking her head as she did so, "Just the Doctor." She told the three strangers in front of her, "He doesn't have a real name."

The Doctor looked at her, rolling his eyes. "I do have a real name, it's just impossible to pronounce! Any way, what's wrong with Doctor?"

She smiled at him shaking her head. It didn't take a genius to see that this was merely playful banter. They had obviously had this discussion many times before.

Deciding to move the situation along Own stepped into the conversation. "What are you doing here?" He asked them, "and how did you get here? That Box wasn't here this morning and Police Box's don't just appear in open spaces from nowhere."

Rose and the Doctor traded a look before the Doctor answered, "We're just passing through. You know what it's like, travelling here there and everywhere and realise you've run out of milk. Don't worry we won't be here long." He paused in satisfaction as he watched them all trying to catch up with him, sorting through what he'd just said. "I'm sorry; I never did catch your names." He added onto the end in an attempt to get an automatic reaction from them.

Just as the Doctor hoped Owen responded automatically, "Owen Harper, Torchwood Institute. This is Gwen Cooper and Toshiko Sato." Gwen glared at Owen who winced, instantly realising his mistake. None of them noticed the momentary look of panic cross the faces of both Rose and the Doctor. Immediately brushing it off the Doctor addressed the three of them.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you all." He paused for a second to consider his words. "Well, I say pleasure, it's rather difficult to enjoy having a gun pointed at you, don't you think Rose?" He addressed the final comment to his companion.

"Oh, yes. Definitely." Replied Rose, "Although I guess you should always make the best of a bad situation, meet new people and all that." The Doctor just grinned at her.

The three Torchwood operatives shared bemused looks. This was certainly a first. Normally people would fight back, if not physically then verbally, but these two didn't seem bothered. If anything they acted like being held at gun point was an every day occurrence, and they still hadn't explained how they got here. This was enough to prompt Gwen into making a decision.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to accompany us to our headquarters." She informed them. "Right now we have no reason to believe that you are not a threat to this planet and until you can give us a satisfactory explanation as to how you are here then we are going to have to take you into custody." She turned and nodded at Toshiko and Owen whom immediately stepped forward, taking a gentle yet firm grip on Rose and the Doctor's arms respectively.

The Doctor just smiled. "Lead the way." He told them.

-----------

Jack had been in his office when the alarms sounded. He hadn't been too worried. His team was truly one of the best he could ask for and he knew that they were more than capable of dealing with anything that may be happening out there without him. Of course he also knew that in all likelihood this was a false alarm. He highly doubted there was any reason to be worried, any alien threat would have been detected long before it got this close to them. For these reasons he'd decided that, rather than heading out with his team to see what was happening, he would stay in his office and continue to fret over the vid-chip that Gwen had brought him that morning. This chip gave him more to worry about than any alarms going off. Chips like this were used for recording communication in Time Agency ships. If there was one kicking around in the gutters of Cardiff, well, it couldn't be good news for him that was for sure.

He was pulled out of his musing by his wrist-com crackling to life.

"Boss, we've bringing in two visitors. One male, early to mid 30s, the other female, early 20s." Came Gwen's voice over the air waves, "where do you want them?"

Jack smiled. Wrist-com's could be handy little things. When he had first taken the job he insisted that all of his staff be equipped with them. He'd made them all himself, easy when you knew how. He had to think for a few seconds before he replied. He honestly hadn't expected them to find anything of interest. Eventually he answered, "Stick the guy in holding cell 3. Bring the girl to my office."

He opened his drawer and threw the chip to the back. Worrying over that could wait; right now he had more pressing things to deal with.

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Rose raised her eyebrows at the Doctor as they were escorted through a small gift shop and into the headquarters of the Torchwood Institute. This all seemed rather surreal to her. The last time they had had a run in with Torchwood she'd nearly died. Luckily for her the void had sealed itself just as she was about to fall into it. She'd been separated from her family forever, but it was worth it, because she still had the Doctor. This Torchwood was different to that one. They seemed safer and certainly fairer. London and Cardiff were worlds apart but still, being here reminded her of that day in Canary Wharf when she'd come so close to losing everything.

The Doctor smiled encouragingly at her as if sensing her anguish. Pushing it all to the back of her mind she grinned back at him. Live for today. That was her new philosophy in life. You can't change the past and you can't predict the future so you should put all you have into the present. That said she began to concentrate on where they were going. After all, you never know when you're going to need an escape route.

Eventually they came to a stop. Gwen looked at Owen who still had a firm grip on the Doctor. "Put him in holding cell three." She told him. "The boss will have a chat with him later." Turning to Toshiko she continued. "He wants to see her straight away. I believe he's in his office."

With a final farewell Gwen headed off back the way they'd come, presumably to do some paper work. As Owen and Toshiko turned to take their charges in two differing directions the Doctor called out; "Wait!" Everyone stopped at hearing the commanding tone in his voice. "Rose." He addressed her, "Don't worry." Again he smiled softly at her. "It's all going to be okay. Not like last time."

Rose just smiled back. "I know. See you soon."

With that they went their separate ways. The Doctor being taken down to the holding cells to wait his turn and Rose being taken to see the Boss.

---------

The closer they got to the Boss's office the more nervous Rose got. She wasn't sure why, after all she'd been in situations like this before, she knew how to handle it. But there was something inside telling her this was different. Eventually they came to a stop outside a door. Toshiko knocked and waited for an answer.

"Come in." Came the reply from within.

There was something about that voice, thought Rose. Something familiar, yet she couldn't quiet place it. Toshiko pushed the door open and herded Rose inside. Rose shuffled into the office. Whomever it was sat on the other side of the desk had his face hidden behind a report of some sort. Rose worried her bottom lip and looked down as her feet as she waited for the inevitable questioning to start. Toshiko was dismissed and the door swung closed behind her and then it was just the two of them in the room.

Eventually Rose got fed up of waiting for the man to talk. She looked up, ready to ask what he wanted with her and gasped. String back at her from the other side of the desk, shock written all over his face, was one man she never thought she'd see again. Someone she thought was long since dead.

Captain Jack Harkness.


	4. Interlude

AN: Hi people! Well, I really am a terrible (and disorganised!) person – I forgot about this story! This is just a quick little additional scene to put you on – hopefully I'll get a proper chapter up on Monday.

I'm heading off to uni in a few days so updates will be sporadic over the next few weeks until I get my internet access sorted. Bear with me. I'm making a pledge now that this story will be complete by the time Torchwood airs on BBC1 (Which **will** be within weeks of it airing on BBC3!)

Interlude

Whilst Rose was busy battling her emotions The Doctor had reached his destination of holding cell three. As Owen stood in the open door way The Doctor decided it was time to put all his eggs in one basket, figuratively speaking.

"So what does Torchwood do now then?" He asked conversationally. "Still shooting down innocent crafts so you can study the poor beggars travelling in them and salvage the technology for yourselves?" His tone was so light that Owen couldn't tell what the motive for the question was.

Blinking Owen replied, "What do you mean?"

The Doctor could tell from the response that Owen clearly had no idea what he was talking about. "You've not been with Torchwood long have you?" He asked. "But answer me this. Are you fair? Or is it shoot first ask questions later? Think carefully, you only get one chance."

Owen looked at the Doctor as if he were crazy. "Why would we want to actively threaten other species?" He asked. "Our only aim is to protect mankind. We do what is necessary. Nothing more."

The Doctor nodded. "Okay." Owen turned to go but the Doctor stopped him, "Owen? One word of warning. I don't mean any harm to your planet. I've been coming and going for hundreds of years and I have never caused intentional harm to any human. But I promise you this. If you or anyone else here at Torchwood harms one hair on Rose's head then you won't live to see tomorrow. Understood?"

With shock in his eyes Owen nodded soundlessly. The Doctor just smiled brightly before waving him goodbye as the man shut the door in a trance and walked off down the corridor. This was something he was going to have to tell his boss about.

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	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Here we go, chapter 4. This is shaping up to be a lot longer than I originally intended – we've yet to find the actual story of it all!

Chapter 4

Rose stood frozen on the spot. She couldn't quite believe what, or rather whom, she was seeing. Jack Harkness was dead. Killed by Daleks on satellite five whilst she's been sitting in a café eating chips with her mother and her ex-boyfriend.

Of course the Doctor had never told her this in as many words but he didn't need to. She'd figured it our for herself from the way he changed the subject every time that Jack's name was mentioned, if that wasn't an admission then nothing was.

Despite this knowledge, however, she could not deny the fact that the man sitting in front of her, alive and well, was Jack Harkness. It was something in the eyes that gave him away as the man she'd known and loved for such a short time. But how was it possible for a dead man to be here, now. Suddenly it clicked. Time Travel. This man in front of her must be from before they'd met. Before 1941. But why had he never mentioned meeting her before? There was sudden clarity as she realised, his two missing years. This was him in the period of his life he couldn't remember. Yes. That definitely answered all the questions.

Jack for his part was equally as stunned as she was. Rose. His Rosie standing in his office large as life. He honestly hadn't thought this day would come. Sure when he'd first come here his plan had been to find her. He'd intended to find the means to go back to the old travelling lifestyle, head to London and pick her up, take her with him through time and space. But then he'd bottled it. Who was he kidding. He wasn't the Doctor, why would she want to travel with him? And besides. She would have a life by now, it wasn't fair to disturb that.

Six moths later his world came crashing down around his shoulders. He'd known the way London were playing around with those 'ghost shifts' would end in tragedy but no-one had listened to his advice. He arrived at work the morning after the invasion to find a list of the dead on his desk. Right up there at the top were the names Mickey Smith, Jackie Tyler and Rose Tyler. 3 names. 3 people, 2 of whom he'd only met briefly, but seeing them there broke him. He'd left it too long and he'd never have another chance. The last important thing in his life was gone.

It had taken him time but eventually he'd managed to put both Rose and the Doctor behind him. He'd moved on with his life, for the first time in years he'd made himself a home, made friends and he was living.

But now here she was. His Rosie. Alive, well and also a prisoner of the state. With an inward chuckle to himself Jack noticed that that last fact didn't surprise him – some things would never change and she was obviously still just as jeopardy friendly as ever. There were thousands of questions swimming around in his head. How was she alive? What was she doing in Cardiff? What had she been up to since they'd parted ways? And largely, the key question on his mind, how had she managed to trip the alarms?

There was sudden understanding as he realised that she had not been brought in alone. Obviously she'd found someone else with the means to take her travelling. Jack fought down a pang of jealousy at this thought and turned his mind to other matters. If her and her friend had been travelling this meant that there was a craft outside, something which his team had failed to mention to him. They would be having words about that later on.

Eventually Jack pulled himself out of his thoughts. The two of them had been stood staring at each other for too long. Digging deep inside Jack searched for his voice, and the right words to say.

"Rose?"

Okay, so that was one word. His voice sounded weak and foreign to his ears and what should have been a statement came out as more of a question but it was a start. Blinking back tears and taking a deep breath he tried again,

"Rosie."

Rose sucked in a lungful of air as Jack uttered her name for the second time. Hearing him address her by name completely destroyed all her quickly formed beliefs about exactly where in Jack's life she was. This was her Jack, not dead but alive and well and living in her time.

Frantically brushing away the tears streaming down her cheeks she uttered the only reply she could find.

"Jack."

That was all it took to break down all the barriers. Almost instantly Jack was on her side of the desk and she was in his arms and they were both clinging to each other like their lives depended on it and she was crying, soaking his shoulder, but neither cared. This was their reunion and if she wanted to cry she damn well would.

Neither knew how long they stood there but they were so ensconced in their emotional reunion that both failed to notice the urgent knocking on the office door. Nor did they notice as the door was slowly and cautiously pushed open. In fact, the first they knew of Jack's visitor was when the incredulous voice of Owen Harper rang out through the office,

"What the hell is going on?"

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A/N: Well I had intended to give you two chapters tonight but unfortunately this is all I have written, it's 11.30 at night and I'm shattered. So what I will do is this. You can have this now with the promise of another chapter within the next 24 hours – can't say fairer than that!


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: For once I have nothing to say. On with the story!

Chapter 5

"_What the hell is going on?"_

The moment Jack heard Owens voice he jumped back from Rose like he'd been electrocuted. This was the last thing he needed. Looking at Owen he saw the suspicion in the man's eyes. He wasn't stupid. He knew that there were people here in Torchwood who were suspicious of him. He couldn't really blame them; after all he'd shown up on their doorstep one day in much the same situation as Rose came to be here now, there was no record of his existence, yet he'd been given the job of heading up the Cardiff branch of Torchwood. Add to that the fact that he knew far more about aliens and space travel than any 21st Century human should do and it was hardly surprising that the majority of Torchwood employees were wary of him.

Looking back at Rose who was now looking hurt at Jack's reaction he sighed.

"I'll be back in a second Rose." He told her gently with a reassuring smile. Turning, he addressed Owen, "A word outside." He said firmly.

--------

As the door swung closed behind the two men Rose fell into a chair by Jack's desk. What a day this was shaping up to be. She was thoroughly confused about what was going on – both Jack and the Doctor had some explaining to do. But yet she'd not been this happy in a long time.

She looked around the office critically. It was only small, barely bigger than a cupboard. The desk was crammed into a corner and in order to maximise the available space was placed diagonally across that corner of the room. There were shelves lining the back wall of the office covered in various files each labelled with the name of what, Rose assumed, was an area of South Wales. The final wall housed a series of filing cabinets, each draw labelled alphabetically. Their was no air of personalisation to it. Not like you would normally find in a persons office. No pictures on the desk, no notice board, no notes from friends, no cards, nothing. Just the necessary pens and paper.

With a sigh Rose leaned back in the chair and to wait for Jack's return.

--------

Jack followed Owen out of the office gently pulling the door closed behind him.

"Before you start," he told Owen firmly, "Rose is an old friend of mine. We haven't seen each other in quite a while."

Owen looked at Jack considering his response to that very carefully. It conjured up many questions in Owens mind, not least about whether Jack knew that this so called friend of his seemed to be travelling around in a Police call box, as that was how it seemed at the moment. Making a split second decision Owen chose to accept what Jack was saying and simply deliver the news he'd come to deliver.

"Okay." He figured he should at least acknowledge Jacks explanation. "I just came to let you know that the guy she came in with is dishing out warnings downstairs. Words to the effect of 'If you harm her I'll kill you'. Just thought you deserved fair warning."

Jack nodded, thinking quickly. He didn't know who it was that Rose was with but it couldn't be the Doctor. He was dead (but then, Jack supposed, he had thought Rose was dead until very recently). Besides, the description of the man that she had been with didn't sound like the Doctor. It sounded, however, like whoever it was she was with, he was every bit as protective of her as the Doctor had been. Decision made he addressed Owen.

"Can you bring him up here for me? I think we need to have words. I highly doubt he's a threat of any sort – I'd trust Rose's judgement to the end of the Earth – but I still need to talk to him.

With a nod Owen turned and walked off down the corridor, heading back towards holding cell three.

---------

Re-entering his office Jack had to have a chuckle to himself.

"Making yourself at home are you?" He asked Rose, mirth in his voice.

Rose herself was sitting on his side of the desk with her feet up, head lolling back and seemed to be half asleep. Jolting back to reality at the sound of his voice she looked up at him guiltily.

"Sorry – haven't had a proper nights sleep in a while." She told him with a weak smile.

Jack dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand before moving to sit on the desk in front of her.

"How are you here?" he asked her softly. "You're dead. Official records say you died six months ago yet here you are. How is it possible?"

She smiled again sadly, noting the sudden change in atmosphere in the room.

"Has it only been 6 months here? Seems a lot longer." She told him before swiftly moving on, "But I'm not the only one who is supposed to be dead. What about you? You died on Satellite Five."

Jack just grinned at her.

"Yeah I thought so too, remember being dead but then I wasn't, was kind of like waking up from a deep sleep. By the time I got to floor 500 the Daleks were gone and so was the Doctor. The TARDIS was dematerialising as I got there and I figured that he'd ended it all and that with him gone the TARDIS died too."

Rose frowned, working through what Jack was saying. It sounded, to her as if Jack thought the Doctor was dead. Of course, she figured, Jack didn't know that she'd found a way back either. As far as he was concerned Rose had been living happily on earth until six moths ago, not knowing how things had ended all those years in the future. No, she realised that it obvious Jack would think the Doctor dead, after all there seemed no other way out. 'Dead or about to die with no chance of escape.' That was what emergency program one had told her. Jack obviously knew that.

What Jack didn't know, however, was that Rose had come back to help. Her memory of her time as Bad Wolf was hazy at best but she remembered enough to know that she had saved the Doctor's life that day, that she had destroyed the Daleks and saved the Earth. A smile brightened her face and she looked at Jack who noted that that happy twinkle was back in her eye's.

"The Doctor isn't dead Jack." She told him gently. "He survived."

Jack just looked at her, disbelief in his eyes. "But how?" he asked her. "He told me himself that there was no chance of the Delta Wave being ready in time. He could destroy the Daleks but to do it he would have to destroy the Satellite and the Earth too. The Delta Wave would have destroyed everything in its path. When I saw that the Wave hadn't been deployed and that there was no sign of the Daleks I assumed that he'd struck a deal with them or something. Handed himself over to save the Earth."

The reply that came wasn't from Rose as expected but came from a man standing in the door way to Jack's office.

"Oh I don't know about that. I'd never strike a deal with a Dalek."


End file.
